


Isle unto Thyself

by Lackaday



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Asexuality Spectrum, Depression, Developing Relationship, Dissociation, Dissociative Disorders, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Issues, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sharing a Body
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lackaday/pseuds/Lackaday
Summary: Set right after KH2/Re:Coded, the destiny trio receive King Mickey’s letter calling them back into action. It accidentally pulls a half-dormant Roxas into being a very disoriented and very upset mostly-aware Roxas, inside a mostly-unaware Sora.Title taken from the album Hawaii: Part IIChapter titles taken from the Gorilaz song “Humility”





	1. Reset Myself and Get Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey what up guess who’s written another fic motivated by my emotional issues. It this biiiiiiiiiish!
> 
> -bangs hand on Sora’s head- This baby can fit so many people inside him!
> 
> No I don’t know where I’m going with this all necessarily, so don bother asking. But I gotta say- I don’t know how I went so long without realizing why I was so fixated on Roxas’s story. It feels so obvious now.
> 
> PS: Welcome to Headcanon City yall
> 
> Onto the fic!

_ I wanted to tell you right away, _

_ About memories from the past that sleep within you, _

_ And about the pieces that will tie you to your future. _

_ Sora, Riku, Kairi, _

_ the truth behind the Keyblade, _

_ has found its way through so many people, _

_ and now I know that it rests in your hearts. _

_ Sora, _

_ you are who you are because of those people, but they're hurting, _

_ and you're the only one who can end their sadness. They need you. _

_ It's possible that all your journeys so far, _

_ have been preparing you for this great new task that's waiting for you. _

_ I should have known there were no coincidences, only links in a much larger chain of events. _

_ And now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened. _

_ -Mickey _

__

Sora held the king’s letter, made of thick parchment and expensive ink, with a barely visible tremble.  _But, they’d just gotten home._

The midafternoon air was still warm as it blew across the beach, but it felt oddly chilly on Sora’s arms now.

Riku and Kairi read over his shoulder, and he felt Kairi’s quiet gasp on his ear as she got to the end. Riku, guarded as ever, didn’t make a noise. However Sora did feel the older boy’s hand come to rest on his shoulder as Kairi spoke up.

“Whatever breakthrough the king made happened fast, I wonder what all he’s talking about?” She broke into a teasing smile. “Who wants to bet it’s  _reincarnation?_ ”

“I,” Riku didn’t think on it for long “don’t think so.”

“How would you know? You can’t remember what you can’t remember. Oh!” Kairi caught onto another half-joking theory. “Maybe you all washed onto the island like I did! And you don’t remember anything either!”

“I think our parents would’ve said something by now, since you’d be the third kid to show up via ocean.” Riku countered, hand still lingering on Sora’s shoulder absently. “Or why would they make a big deal about it when it happened to you, but not with us.”

“I don’t know, maybe you were too little to remember. Or maybe I was just too smart and popular for them to keep it a secret from me.”

“I really, really doubt it’s that.”

Sora could hear the smile in his voice, and practically feel the laughter in Kairi’s.

“Are you sayin’ I’m not smart and popular?” She was grinning ear to ear.

“You.” Riku squinted at her, melting into a smile.

Kairi took a few moments to snicker before looking back down at the very quiet Sora. “Still reading it? What do you think?”

Riku added, “Excited to see the worlds again?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah!” Sora answered, confused by his own reaction.

Behind him, Kairi and Riku shared a look of mild concern- part of the meaning was lost in translation between them but the important thing made it across.

Sora upset.

Riku squeezed Sora’s shoulder lightly. Then both he and Kairi started to talk at the same time. After a little awkwardness and a ‘no you go’ from Riku, Kairi took the floor.

“I’m sure whatever it is, we have time.” She started “If it was super super urgent, the king would’ve just come to tell us directly, right?”

Riku added a “Yeah”, not quite sure what else to contribute. Sora shrugged and nodded.

She continued. “Plus, it’ll be different this time since we’ll know how to get back home. And we’ll be able to  _actually start_ an adventure  _together_. And I’m coming! You can’t kick me out of this one, my name’s in the letter too.”

“A little defensive there.” Riku commented. “Why would we kick you out?”

“It’s not you guys  _specifically_ ; it’s more like the universe. I haven’t gotten to go on almost any of the adventures and it’s like it’s a curse.” She replied. “I mean I guess I was around for a lot of the first leg of the big adventures, but I don’t remember like 90% of it so I don’t think that counts.”

Sora looked back at her with surprise. “You remember some of the stuff from when your heart was in me?”

“A little bit, yeah.” She confirmed with a shrug. “The tiniest bit.”

Riku brought up, “Okay but you’re actually enrolled in school and it’s mid-semester, what about that?”

“This letter is like a doctor’s note but better, because you have to do what it says. Legally.” She answered. “I will skip out on school and leave a photocopy of this on the principal’s desk if I have to. And the mayor will deal because this is important!”

It was then that two things dawned on them. One, that it was going to be hell telling their parents they were leaving again. And two, they forgot they were supposed to be dealing with Sora being Upset.

They looked back at their brunette friend, who was looking up at Kairi with a conflicted expression. Sora said, “Riku’s got a point, Kairi. I mean, we don’t know how long we’ll be gone for and last time Riku and I were only gone for what- a year and a half? Almost two years? And you’ve seen how messy getting back into everything is for us. Plus,” he tried to sound humorous, but it was obvious he was still distressed. “One of us has to know things. I don’t know if I can even do big math anymore. Can Riku even write?”

_ And you’d get hurt. _

Kairi rolled her eyes. “Excuses. It’ll be fine.”

Sensing a lull, Riku jumped in. It was best to be direct with Sora. “You look like something’s bothering you.”

“Ah-!” Sora looked a little on-the-spot. “No I’m okay. Why’d you say that?”

“Sora.” Riku frowned slightly. “You’re not a good liar.”

“W-well,” Sora’s eyes lifted up and away for a good few seconds before he could continue. It felt like he’d swallowed a rock. A small rock, but still. A rock’s a rock. “I just- I don’t know how I’m gonna tell everyone. I haven’t even gotten to  _see_  most of my friends yet and we have to go already?” Letting it out added another rock to his throat, and another to the pit of his stomach.

Kairi bit her lip as she smiled nervously. “Like I was saying, the letter can’t be that urgent if the King didn’t send someone or bring it to us personally. We’ve got time- I’m sure we’ll still be here for the big welcome home party.”

Sora clamped his teeth down and made a short noise. Getting his thoughts in order was like herding cats, and looking her in the eye was distracting him from it. So he didn’t look at her. Or Riku. “But what about my friends from town and Ax-“

Riku waited a moment before prompting, “Who?”

Sora didn’t have an answer. His stomach ached from all the rocks in it. “Mm- never mind, I don’t know.”

“If you wanna go to the town over,” Riku offered “I gotta go to the city to tell my mom and visit.” He’d be lying if he said the offer was only for Sora’s benefit. The visit had been weighing heavy on his mind since his dad suggested it on their first day home. Secretly, he hadn’t wanted to stay at his dad’s house that night either. But it felt wrong not to.

Kairi added, “And I’m sure your mom’s invited your city friends to the party too.” Who his city friends were, though, she hadn’t a clue. But it wasn’t out of the question that he’d made some friends in the city at some point.

“Yeah.” Sora sounded uncertain. There was something important about someone else, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “And yeah I’ll go into the city with you, Riku. Kairi coming too?”

“If you go when school’s out?” She led on.

That would be a good excuse to wait a few days, Riku thought. “If you wanna come? Ah, maybe you two can go hang out while I see her.”

Kairi offered, “I mean we’re cool going with you to actually see her too.”

“Nah,” Riku shrugged her off. “She’s gonna cry and it’d be weird, I’ll just meet up with you after. Plus, Sora hasn’t been in the city in how long? You can show him whatever.”

Sora lit up. “We can get ice cream after!”

Riku perked up a little at Sora’s enthusiasm. “Yeah. Sure. That sounds nice.” He felt Kairi take his hand. He let her. She squeezed it, and he felt himself smile.

She took up Sora’s hand as well and smiled brightly. “Speaking of things that sound nice, are you two sleeping over tonight?”

Sora had to think for a moment. “My parents want me to have dinner at home but I’ll be over after!”

The two of them looked at Riku. He answered, “Course I’ll be over.”

She looked almost giddy. It was enough to distract Sora from the clamoring worry working over in his gut. But it wormed its way back to the forefront of his mind again after a few moments. “Should I,” he asked “tell my parents about the letter tonight or… do you think I could wait?”

Kairi’s smile faltered. When was she going to tell  _her_ dad? “Uh, well, how long is your dad gonna be in town for before the fishing boats leave?”

“I’m not sure.”

“As long as you tell them before that, you should be fine.” She looked up at Riku. “Right?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

Kairi let go of their hands to hoist herself up onto the sitting-tree, then held her hands back out to invite the boys to sit with her. “So! Where did leave off?”

Sora took her hand and plopped himself down next to her. He ran his thumb over the back of her soft hand idly. “I’m pretty sure it was Riku’s turn to share.”

“You’re on the hot seat! You gotta tell us about a world!” Kairi gave him a smile.

Riku leaned against the tree, reaching up to take her hand and press his cheek against it thoughtfully. When she tugged, he rolled his eyes and hefted himself up to join them properly. Fine, fine. “Fine, okay. Let’s see.” As he trailed off, Kairi took his hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

Sora was listening, of course! He loved his friend, and loved to hear him talk. Especially about Riku’s favorite topic- traveling. But even as Riku described exploring a world he knew Sora would trace him through, an anxious part of Sora’s mind wondered. It worked over his list of islander friends again and again. Titus, Wakka, Selphie- Who was missing- people were missing-

_ Olette- _

Olette?

It was then that he caught himself not listening, and hoped the other two hadn’t noticed. Sora managed to stay on track for the rest of the conversation- only straying here and there to the nagging at the back of his mind. He chocked it up to nerves about dinner, and excused himself when the sun was starting to hang low so he could run off in time for it.

Though he tried not to think about the King’s letter- about already having to leave- it was hard to think about anything else. And as he rowed his little boat back home, his nerves hit their height as a fearful realization came to mind.

_ How is he gonna find me if we’re moving around between worlds! _

The fear dominated his brain until he reached the shore. Getting out and tying his boat to the dock- only then did he realize that he didn’t know who he was upset about.

And the fear pulled away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, this fic is going to be dealing with a lot of DID/OSDD 1-adjacent experiences but Sora's whole deal isn't a 1-to-1 for either disorder. These disorders are caused by the person's sense of continuous self being interrupted by repeated childhood trauma and then compartmentalizing into multiple self-states (aka alternate identities) to deal with it. It's not weird magical ret-con based heart/soul shenanigans. :p 
> 
> If any of the depictions of dissociation, unreality, or multiple self-states resonates with your own experiences, I would encourage you to look into Dissociative Disorders as a whole! It can be a lonely world out there when you don't understand what's happening to you!
> 
> Edit: PRETEND I DIDN'T HECK UP THE FORMATTING AT FIRST SHH


	2. I Don’t Want This Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like more of this ended up being a game of “fuck marry kill” than I intended and I’m not sure if I should apologize for that.
> 
> And I know it’s a few days late, but let’s pretend it’s still the 23rd for a hot minute! Happy System Pride Day! Shout out to all my OSDD and undiagnosed buds.

Boat all tied up and bubbly thoughts in his head of sleeping over with his two best friends, Sora made his way home feeling a little lighter. The setting sun washed his sleepy island with peach light. He breathed the warm, floral air as he walked through the quiet neighborhood. _Nothing’s changed._ Riku was right when he said that. How long was it again? Around two years? Of course, it didn’t feel like almost two full years to Sora, so it was weird to think about how long he’d really been gone for. When he was walking around, taking in the dotted lights from houses nested in the bushes and trees, it was easy to forget that any time had passed at all.

He stilled in the twilight.

He should probably go. His house was right there.

 

How long had he been standing here for?

We should go inside.

How do I get my limbs to move?

Sora shook himself, turned, and promptly walked up the path to his front door.

 

Back on that first night he was home, he cried through dinner. His mother cried with him, and his father cried after dinner was cleaned up. A few days in to being home again, and his mother’s cooking still made him feel like crying. Most of being home felt heart meltingly normal.

But there were parts of it that were almost surreal. Plastic. An uncomfortable mist draped itself over those things that betrayed how much time had passed. The trees were a little taller. The paint on the docks was different. None of his old clothes fit right. His dad’s salt and pepper hair was now gray.

But his laugh was the same. And so was mom’s cooking.

It surprised him how comforting their voices were. So he sat, eating their rice and fish dinner, listening attentively to their afternoon chat.

_You need to ask about when dad’s leaving._

Sora swallowed hard. Right. Shit. He scooped the last of his fish into his mouth and took his time chewing, hoping there wouldn’t be a lull in the conversation.

His mom quickly noticed his mostly empty plate. “Ready for seconds?” She smiled, eyes crinkling softly.

“Uh,” he thought about it. _You need to ask._ “Yeah!”

She passed him the tray of fish, which had an extra helping just for him, and he forked it onto his plate.

“Dad?” Sora asked nervously. “How much longer till you have to leave?”

His dad chewed thoughtfully. “I was actually needing to talk to you about that.”

Mom sighed quietly, but didn’t interject.

“Either,” He said “I leave on Thursday, and maybe come back the day before your party,”

Sora could see his mom shake her head out of the corner of his eye.

“Or you’re stuck with me for the next two or so weeks.” He smiled like he’d just said something funny.

“Dear,” His mom said in a hushed tone. “We talked about this. We’ll be able to handle it.”

“The issue is I might not get back in time for your party,” He clarified “if I leave Thursday.”

Sora doubted that that was the issue his mom was concerned about. _What do we say?_ He was starting to feel a little dizzy. “Are you leaving Thursday?”

“I don’t have to, if you want me to be there for sure.”

_Mom doesn’t like this._ His throat dried up. _Take a drink._ He moved his arm to take up his cup. “If you need to go, I don’t mind. You’ll be back in time, right?” The arm felt clammy and the cup heavy.

“Of course!” Dad gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ve already worked it out with the rest of the boat.”

Sora smiled back, and tried not to look at his mom. She was clearly trying not to appear upset. It wasn’t working. The conversation dropped off for a little bit.

Taking a gulp of her drink, his mom spoke up. “Is Riku alright? Last time I saw him, he was squinting something awful.”

“The light’s just a lot for him.” Sora shrugged. “He was traveling in a lot of darkness while we were gone. So his eyes got used to it.”

“Will you take him one of the hats by the door when you see him tonight?” She suggested in a light tone. “Adjusting your eyes by staring at the sun’ll ruin them. And he’s too young for his eyes to go bad.”

“Oh, thanks!” _Where am I?_ “I’ll give it to him.”

What?

_Who are these people?_

The sensation made him feel weak. It was like he was suddenly underwater, wavering in the current, distant from the dinner table.

_These are my parents. I’m home?_ The feeling didn’t go away. If anything, he felt less in touch with his surroundings. A weird urgency to leave flittered through him and he stood up, confused and guilty. A sinking awareness told him that that his clothes weren’t right and his fingers weren’t his.

His mom blinked at him curiously. The disorientation didn’t let up.

“Excuse me.” He darted to the bathroom to get some air. Behind him, his mom and dad shared a shrug and picked back up on their chatting.

When he came back a few minutes later, he wasn’t feeling much better. But none the less, he finished dinner and pretended nothing was wrong.

 

“Okay, screw, marry, kill: Donald, Goofy, Mickey.” Kairi looked Riku dead in the eye as she stood in the open doorway to her room. In her hands where the drinks they had forgotten when they’d moved from the living room.

“Uh,” Riku’s mouth hung open slightly. “What?”

“You heard me. Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey.” She handed him his juice before sitting down on the large bed, trying not to disturb the card game Riku had set out on it.

He took the drink and gave it a sip. “Why would I any of those with any of them?”

“That’s what’s fun.” She rolled her eyes blithely. “I would… I would screw Mickey. I don’t wanna be a queen. Marry Goofy, because he seems like he’d be tender and polite. And kill Donald. I’m sorry Donald.”

Riku chuckled through his nose and thought about it for a second. “Hm. God this is weird. I’d screw… Goofy. I would marry Mickey, I already know what he’s like to be around and Minnie sounds nice. And that leaves Donald for kill.” He smiled down at the cards, mildly embarrassed. “I don’t think I could deal with the voice.”

“I don’t think I could either!” Kairi agreed. “I’m sorry Donald but I don’t think we could deal! I also don’t know if I could take the King’s voice seriously either, but I could work with it more than Donald’s.” She watched Riku study his hand of cards as he chose his first move against her. “Alright, next one.”

“Sora’s gonna walk in at exactly the wrong moment if you keep going.”

“It’ll be funny. Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and Maleficent.”

“Euh, not Maleficent, she told me she thought of me as a son once.”

“Sorry, sorry. Okay, Pete.” Kairi put down a card.

“Oh _god._ This round’s worse than the first.” Riku smiled as he complained. “Um, screw Pete. I don’t think he’d stick around the next morning.”

“But he’s also the least _deeply, deeply evil._ ” She argued.

“This is my list. I’d marry Xemnas. He wouldn’t feel anything for me, but I think that means he’d also leave me alone when I didn’t feel like being around him. Kill Ansem the heartless. He is not getting anywhere near my heart again.”

She hummed wisely and nodded. “Good call. Though wow, you make all your choices based on how willing they are to leave you alone. That’s sad, Riku.”

“You’re really, really not giving me any good options for partners here. One of them more or less took me hostage.” He insisted. “It’s not me, it’s your choices.”

“I think it’s at least a little bit you. I’d screw Ansem Seeker of Darkness because I think I could convince him I’m into knives and then get at least one good stab in for you and our islands.”

“You didn’t say we could do that.” He found himself weirdly flattered by her hypothetical stabbing.

“This is my list! And I’d marry Pete, because he’s the least evil. And I’d kill Xemnas.” She paused for a moment. “Actually, I’d marry Xemnas because I bet I could love him into having a heart. And then he’d feel bad for everything he did. And I’d kill Pete because really, what is his damage.”

“Why would you kill the least evil of the three. Why did you have to pick three evil people?”

“Okayyy,” she whined. “How about an easier one. Ariel, Jasmine, and… Belle.”

“What about Jasmine and Belle’s boyfriends? Or are they married now. Didn’t Ariel just get married?”

“You are so bad at this game. Mickey has a wife and you married him? And Donald has a girlfriend. I think.”

Riku sighed long and hard through his nose. “Screw… Jasmine. Aladdin might get jealous, but I bet she could keep a secret. Marry Belle, because I think the Beast would like me and we’d probably all get along. And, I don’t know… I think I could be into it. After a while. Belle’s smart, and Beast could understand me. Kill Ariel. I don’t know how it would work with a mermaid and I don’t want to know.”

“I’m the complete opposite!” She exclaimed. “Screw Ariel because I wanna be a mermaid for a day. I don’t think I could do it for a whole marriage unless I didn’t have to live underwater all the time. Marry Jasmine because she’s really pretty, and so is Aladdin.” Kairi tried to act like she wasn’t blushing from admitting that. “And I guess I’d have to kill Belle. Which is terrible. I’m sorry.”

Riku huffed a laugh. “Why are you apologizing to me?” He watched her take her turn with a quiet nervousness. Right as she opened her mouth to list three more names, he asked, “Would you ever date more than one person?”

“Huh?” She looked up at him. “Like. Ever?”

“No, I mean. At the same time.”

She still looked confused. “Can you _do_ that?”

That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. Weren’t they just joking about this? His buzzing nerves detached and his expression went slack as he elaborated. “Yeah? I mean. Like, why not?”

“Wouldn’t it be cheating?”

“I’m talking about if everyone you were dating was cool with it.” Absently, he noticed that her face had turned pink. “Or was like… already dating and then you started dating _them_.”

“Uh,” she stalled to wonder if the room was hot or if it was just her. Was he getting at something, or was he asking for a friend? “I don’t know. If I liked them both. And if they liked me?” Was it her turn or his turn in the card game? When was Sora gonna get here?

_I think I would,_ a voice inside her whispered.

_You would?_

_It’d be nice. Like love on all sides._

Kairi’s brain stalled out for a few beats, where Riku took his sweet time playing his round and she took a deep gulp of her juice to reorient.

“I was thinking about it while wondering around a bit ago.” Riku kept his eyes on the cards as he talked. “You know how a paopu has five points? I don’t know if that actually means anything, but it feels like it does. You could entwine yourself with up to four other people if you wanted. Maybe five if someone wants to take the middle chunk.” He chanced a glance up at her, and when it didn’t seem like she was reacting badly, he relaxed a bit. “Does that make sense?”

“I mean if you had a knife you could probably do more.” She mused with a shrug. “But any more than two sounds like a lot?”

“Maybe? Probably. It was just a thought.”

They were quiet for a little bit. Kairi broke the silence with, “Would you date multiple people at once?”

He shrugged. “If it felt right.”

Kairi waited for him to make eye contact with her, which he did after a moment of quiet. She offered him a lopsided smile. He smiled a little bit in return. Her smile widened. “Your replica, a replica of me, and Sora but it’s the shadow version he talked about fighting on Captain Hook’s ship.”

“Kill all of them!” His eyes were exasperated, but his smile was still there. “I wanna ask one!”

Riku was freed from his torture by a muffled “ _I’m here!_ ” and the sound of the front door shutting. “ _Riku? Kairi?_ ”

“There’s that goober.” Kairi turned around to yell out her bedroom door, “We’re in here! The old guest room! It’s mine now!”

Riku racked his brain for three names to ask before Sora could come in and the conversation would inevitably move on. “Um- eh, Sora, me, and-“ Oh god Sora was almost here “Namine.” None of these felt like solid options for a game like this.

“That’s not fair!” Kairi yelled right as Sora got into the doorway. She almost threw her hand of cards and Riku. “Kill you for making me choose! Screw Sora ‘cause he wouldn’t forgive me for killing you! And I’m marrying Namine! Because self-love!”

Sora looked at them with an absent, dumbfounded smile. “Wha-t’s going on?” He looked between Kairi and Riku, who was hiding his self-satisfied smile behind his hand of cards.

“It’s like choosing your favorite leg.” Kairi grumbled and gestured at Riku sharply. “Well now _you_ have to do it too, jerk. Sora, me, and Namine.”

“I don’t get to be a choice?” Riku asked, still very amused.

“No!”

Sora set down the snacks his mom sent with him on the bedside table, and the sunhat nearby. “Someone wanna let me know what we’re talking about?”

Riku looked him over and noted the things he’d brought in. “In a minute. I’d kill Namine because she would probably return to you if her body was destroyed.”

Kairi whined, “That’s cheating!”

“And I’d screw Sora. And marry you, because you and Namine would understand and forgive me for everything I did. And you would do my taxes right. Sora’s turn.” He looked him in the eye. “Marry, fuck, kill.”

Kairi sighed. “It’s not polite to say fuck, Riku.”

Riku paused for a beat. “Oh, well. Fuck me then, right? Sora. Marry, fuck, kill: Kairi, me, and Namine.”

“What?” Sora repeated slowly.

“Who would you do what?” Riku semi-explained.

“Can I have my options again?” His voice was careful.

“Kairi, me, and Namine.”

“Uhm.” Sora gave it some thought. “I’d marry Kairi and do stuff with you. I don’t think things would be _ttthat_ weird afterwards? And,” He whined like he was making a real decision. “But that leaves kill for Namine!”

Riku stated plainly, “That’s what makes it a challenge.”

“I don’t wanna kill Namine.” Sora sounded upset. He was also red in the cheeks at this point.

Kairi assured him, “It’s just a game, Namine doesn’t care. Wouldn’t care.” She quickly corrected. If either of them noticed –which let’s be honest, Sora probably didn’t– neither of the boys let on.

“Okay, fine.” Sora looked at Kairi like he’d just done something wrong. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “You’re taking it way too seriously. What took you so long to get here?”

“Uhh,” Sora stalled to think of a good excuse. “I just had to like, put some stuff away before I could come over.” If either of them noticed the lie –which let’s be honest, one of them probably did– neither of his friends let on. “Deal me in? What’re we playing?”

Riku set his cards down. “I don’t actually know who’s turn it is anymore, wanna just start over?”

“Sure!” Kairi collected up the cards and scooted over to allow Sora into their little circle on her bed. When she convinced her dad to let her switch to the bigger room, she also managed to secure the larger bed that was already in there.

They played cards into the night, switching from one game to another as they got tired. And with his friends, laughing and relaxing, Sora’s concerns and strange feelings slipped from his thoughts. But they stood in the shaded corner of his mind even while forgotten. And in that corner, a pressure built up around the most restless of them.


End file.
